Decade is an unreleased greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. Matt Forger confirmed and talked about it in depth during the 151st episode of the MJCast.[1] The album later turned into what would become the eighth studio album by Jackson, Dangerous, and the idea itself seems to have inspired the first disc of Jackson's 1995 double studio album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I.
Background[]
Reports and rumors[]
The first reports appeared in an article featured in the "Black and White" fanzine (French edition), talking about a supposed "secret album" coming soon. Those stated the project was going to release in late 1989 and feature Jackson's greatest hits from 1979-1989. More rumors started spreading that Jackson supposedly "missed the deadline" and that he'd rework the album with a different track listing, now featuring songs recorded from 1980-1990.
Official information[]
Very little official information about the project is known. Forger did confirm during the MJCast interview that the project would've featured Jackson's greatest hits along with three new tracks. Works started during the Summer of 1989, more specifically July. During Christmas, Bruce Swedien joined the project. At that time, the team would also shift studios from Westlake to Record One, as Jackson felt like he didn't have as much privacy due to the number of people working at Westlake.[1]
Not much is known about the development of the album between 1990-1991, although considering the latest known DATs of Decade date back to May of 1991, it can be assumed the project evolved into Dangerous pretty late into the development.
It's also unknown why exactly Decade became the state it is today, although it's often assumed the reason is simply that there was so much new material created between 1989-1991, that it made the most sense to combine it into another studio album and focus on it, rather than a compilation.
Debunked information[]
While rumors say that Jackson recorded a cover of The Beatles, "Strawberry Fields Forever", it was debunked by Brad Sundberg during his In the Studio With MJ seminars. He stated Jackson was approached about the idea, but that he passed on it. Sundberg also debunked Jackson ever re-recording any of the Jackson 5 material, "I'll Be There" and "Never Can Say Goodbye", which were rumored to be on another variation of the tracklist. Songs such as "It Doesn't Really Matter" ("Who Is It") were rumored to appear as well.[2] The reports also featured a fake album cover and tracklist.
Track list[]
After Brad Sundberg's laptop got stolen on January 27, 2023, pictures of a couple of tracklists for Decade were leaked. First originating from February 14, 1990, and the second being from May 3, 1991. Decade would debut songs like "Come Together" and "Heal the World", before their official release on the next two studio albums respectively. On the 1991 tracklist, "Off the Wall" seems to have been replaced by "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", despite it being already being included on the previous leaked tracklist. "Music & Me" is also the only Motown solo song featured on the compilation.
Standard edition | ||
---|---|---|
No. | Title | Length |
1. | "Billie Jean" | 4:54 |
2. | "Bad" | 4:07 |
3. | "Rock with You" | 3:40 |
4. | "The Way You Make Me Feel" | 4:57 |
5. | "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" | 6:04 |
6. | "Workin' Day and Night" | 5:13 |
7. | "Thriller" | 5:57 |
8. | "Beat It" | 4:18 |
9. | "Human Nature" | 4:06 |
10. | "She's Out of My Life" | 3:37 |
11. | "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" | 3:59 |
12. | "Say Say Say" (with Paul McCartney) | 3:54 |
13. | "Off the Wall" | 4:06 |
14. | "Leave Me Alone" | 4:40 |
15. | "This Place Hotel" | 5:43 |
16. | "Man in the Mirror" | 5:18 |
17. | "Smooth Criminal" | 4:17 |
18. | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" | 6:03 |
19. | "Dirty Diana" | 4:40 |
20. | "Music & Me" | 2:38 |
21. | "Someone in the Dark" | 4:48 |
22. | "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (featuring Siedah Garrett) | 4:11 |
23. | "Liberian Girl" | 3:52 |
24. | "The Girl Is Mine" (featuring Paul McCartney) | 3:42 |
25. | "State of Shock" (featuring Mick Jagger) | 4:31 |
26. | "Come Together" | 4:02 |
27. | "Heal the World" | 6:24 |